US Rep. Zach Nunn and state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott used their only debate Tuesday night to trade sharp attacks on the Iran war, the Epstein files, and healthcare costs, one week before Election Day in one of the most competitive US House races in the country.
The KCCI-hosted debate was the first time Iowans saw the two on stage together, after weeks of fighting over scheduling. Forecasters at Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved the race for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District from toss-up to lean Democratic earlier this month.
Why did Nunn change his Iran war vote?
Trone Garriott, a Democrat from West Des Moines, said Nunn voted five times to continue the war and said she would join a bipartisan effort to remove US Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth.
“Iran should never have a nuclear weapon. But in order to assure that doesn’t happen, we need good leadership in the Department of Defense: a careful plan, a clear strategy,” she said.
Her campaign counts five votes in support of the war, though this includes both votes against war powers resolutions and a vote for a Pentagon funding bill.
Nunn voted Sept. 15 with six other Republicans for a war powers resolution that passed 220-204. Asked why he changed course, he said he had trusted the president while peace negotiations were underway and said Congress needs a plan for troops.
“Congress must fulfill its constitutional obligation to work with the president, to make sure we’re providing security, to make sure that we’re providing an off-ramp for this war that prevents Iran from having a nuclear weapon,” Nunn said.
Hegseth headlined a Nunn fundraiser at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 17.
“We need guys like this man right here having our back in Congress,” Hegseth told the crowd according to the New York Times. “When we need an ally to call who understands why it’s important to fund our military in the way we need to fund it, but also do so in a fiscally responsible way, we call Congressman Zach Nunn.”
A group of former national security officials has asked the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the appearance violated the Hatch Act.
What did they say about taxes and costs?
Nunn defended the 2025 tax law and called it “the largest tax cut in American history.” PolitiFact rated that claim “mostly false” on Oct. 7, finding the law’s new tax cuts tie for sixth-largest since 1980 as a share of the economy.
Trone Garriott said she supports making the tips, overtime, and Social Security deductions permanent and favors targeting tax relief to families making under $180,000 a year. The deductions are set to expire after 2028. Nunn accused her of voting for the largest tax increase in Iowa history. She said she has never voted to raise taxes on Iowans.
How did they argue over healthcare and clinic closures?
Trone Garriott said Nunn’s vote for the 2025 tax and spending law is already closing clinics in the district. Nunn said the law’s rural health money is keeping care local.
The closures she pointed to are real. MercyOne closed its Ottumwa family medicine clinic in February and its South Des Moines family medicine and urgent care clinics on June 26, citing expected Medicaid cuts. The CEO of MercyOne’s parent system, Trinity Health, warned after the law passed that the cuts would more than double its annual losses to over $1 billion.
River Hills Community Health Center also announced in May that it would close its Centerville clinic on July 31. It cited workforce shortages, rising costs, and reimbursement pressures, and linked the closure to insurance funding cuts.
Nunn pointed to the law’s Rural Health Transformation Fund, which aimed to mitigate the harm from the One Big, Beautiful Bill’s estimated $911 billion reduction in Medicaid spending over the first 10 years. He said it helped Wayne County’s hospital build a dialysis center and said a new River Hills clinic opened and hired staff.
Nunn also called himself the Republican who broke with his party to back a temporary extension of enhanced ACA subsidies. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reported he was the only Iowa Republican to do so, and that the subsidies lapsed at the end of 2025. Nunn said the ACA needs reform and claimed that people who should not be enrolled are draining it.
Trone Garriott said she would restore Medicaid funding and protect the ACA. In July 2025, Nunn told WHO 13 it was a “myth” that rural hospitals would close, Iowa Starting Line reported.
What did they say about the Epstein files and school claims?
Moderators pressed Nunn on an attack ad about the Epstein files. In Congress, Nunn had 14 chances to get the files released and he voted each time to wait. He called the ad a lie and said his earlier votes against forcing release were meant to protect survivors from being re-victimized.
Nunn voted for the final bill but did not sign the discharge petition. Rep. Thomas Massie said Oct. 9 his second petition was two signatures short.
Nunn also said Trone Garriott “authored the bill that would teach transgender ideology to kindergartners.” The bill he referenced relates to Area Education Agencies and does not mention sex education. Trone Garriott said she opposes men in women’s locker rooms and that her votes were about giving parents a voice.
